NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis says that government will not accept wholesalers/retailers “breaking the law” by blatantly refusing to adhere to the expanded Price Control regime.
Halkitis said that the government was not being “heavy-handed” or “unreasonable” and warned that pharmaceutical and food wholesalers/retailers could face penalties for failing to follow the law. Members of the Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association closed their businesses yesterday due to the government’s failure to acknowledge their recommendations in response to its decision to reduce their profit margin on price-controlled drugs.
The Retail Grocers Association also stated that they were not changing their prices until they received a conclusive response from the government to their proposal.
Halkitis said: “The changes came into effect on October 17 and we have been in some discussions. We received a letter from the Pharmacy Association on Thursday past, having met with them the previous week. We were in the middle of analyzing the contents of the letter and preparing our response when we had this shut down without notice.
“We expect the pharmacies to follow the law. We understand that there is some concern over the completion of the implementation of the amendments. We are prepared for those who are in the middle of implementation and might need a few days to ensure they have completed implementing the amendments.”
Halkitis noted that while the government is prepared to work with businesses in those circumstances it is not willing to accept total disregard of the law.
He added: “We are not heavy-handed at all. What we said is we would delay enforcement until November 1. We would have been fully within our rights to begin enforcement on October 17.”
Halkitis said that the government does not accept that consultation or negotiation would forego enforcement of the law, adding that the price control regime expansion would be on a temporary basis; three months in the case of pharmacies and six months in the case of food retailers.
“We understand that inflation affects everyone including the consumers we are trying to help,” he said.
“There are some points of interest we want to discuss further but that does not preclude the implementation of the amendments. We expect the amendments to be implemented.
He added: “If some of them take the position that they will disregard the law then there are consequences under the law. There will be enforcement.”
The Pharmaceutical Association, like the Retail Grocers Association, has contended that the new price control regulations specific to the pharmacy sector are untenable and unsustainable. The association has instead recommended that the government eliminate value-added tax (VAT) and duty on medicines.
